Hydraulicly lifted toilet seat

ABSTRACT

A hydraulically lifted toilet seat. A hydraulic linear actuator mounted within a lift unit rigidly attached to the toilet bowl unit utilizes utility water pressure to provide a force to lift the toilet seat. In a preferred embodiment a drive arm of the hydraulic linear actuator applies a tension force to a flexible tension element which is in turn attached to a sheave that is rigidly attached to an axle rigidly attached to the toilet seat. Actuation of the drive arm of the linear actuator causes the sheave, axel and the toilet seat to pivot about 100 to 110 degrees from a horizontal position to a raised position leaning against the toilet tank. In the preferred embodiment the flexible tension element is a nylon cord attached to the sheave through a pulley. In this preferred embodiment the hydraulic linear actuator is controlled by a spring loaded three-way valve or two two-way spring loaded valves permitting users to raise or lower the seat by temporally positioning valve handles up or down. In this embodiment the pressure line to the actuator is connected to a vent line to a float cutoff valve in the toilet tank so that when the toilet is flushed, pressure in the hydraulic linear actuator is relieved causing the toilet seat to lower to its horizontal position each time the toilet is flushed. Embodiments are provided that come in kit form to permit easy installation without plumbing expertise on almost any toilet in the United States.

The present invention relates to devices for raising and lowering toiletseats and toilet lids and in particular for hydraulic devices forraising the seats and lids.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Flush toilets consist of a bowl and a device for flushing the contentsof the bowl down a sanitary drain. Almost all flush toilets have adetachable hinged toilet seat (mostly made now days of plastic) andalmost all toilets installed in residences include a hinged lid.Features of particular toilets found in many residences are shown inFIGS. 1A through 1E. These toilets comprise a toilet seat 2 and a toiletseat cover 4. Other features are the toilet bowl unit 6 and the watertank 8. The tank typically has a tank cover 10. The cover 4 and the seat2 pivot about a pivot axis 12 in each of two hinge units 14A and 14B.The hinge units are rigidly mounted to the bowl unit in each case with abolt, washer and nut with the bolt passing through a frame portion ofbowl unit 6. The cover and seat is typically lifted by hand by men andboys so they can pee in the bowl without wetting down the seat. Girlsand women typically lift the cover by hand. However since they peesitting down, they rarely lift the seat. In fact, this can lead to a bigproblem especially in residences where only women live, since the girlsand women grow accustom to the seat being in a down position. A man orboy visiting will typically leave the seat in the up position afterpeeing. Then the girl or woman comes in to use the toilet sometimes willsit down thinking the seat is down when it is not. The result can bevery disturbing and can in some cases lead to injuries. To solve thisproblem, several techniques have been proposed to return the seat to thedown position after it has been raised. For example, see U.S. Pat. Nos.5,400,442, 5,343,571 and 5,884,342.

Most toilets in public locations comprise a hinged toilet seat but noseat cover and have the general features shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B. Theseat has the general shape of a C as shown in FIG. 2B instead of thegeneral O shape as in the residential unit. Public rest rooms in theUnited States are usually equipped with a dispenser holding paper toiletseat covers that the user can place over the toilet seat so that hisskin does not touch the seat. Some people lift and lower the seat inpublic places with their shoe, since they prefer not to touch the seatwith their hand. Many designs have been proposed for devices that permitusers to raise and lower toilet seats without touching them. Many suchdesigns include a foot powered mechanism with gears and leversconfigured to raise and lower the seat or the seat and the lid. Otherdevices are motor driven with remotely located push button controls.Several designs are hydraulically powered with flush water pressureproviding the energy to raise and/or lower the seat and/or lid. Examplesof prior art hydraulically operated toilet seats are U.S. Pat. No.4,291,422 to Shoemaker et al and U.S. Pat. No. 5,774,904 to McWilliams.

Although many remotely lifted toilet seats have been proposed and manypatents exist covering various designs for remotely lifted toilet seats,none, to the best of Applicants knowledge, have become widely utilized.

What is needed is a better remotely lifted toilet seat.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a hydraulically lifted toilet seat. Ahydraulic linear actuator mounted within a lift unit rigidly attached tothe toilet bowl unit utilizes utility water pressure to provide a forceto lift the toilet seat. In a preferred embodiment a drive arm of thehydraulic linear actuator applies a tension force to a flexible tensionelement which is in turn attached to a sheave that is rigidly attachedto an axle rigidly attached to the toilet seat. Actuation of the drivearm of the linear actuator causes the sheave, axel and the toilet seatto pivot about 100 to 110 degrees from a horizontal position to a raisedposition leaning against the toilet tank. In the preferred embodimentthe flexible tension element is a nylon cord attached to the sheavethrough a pulley. In this preferred embodiment the hydraulic linearactuator is controlled by a spring loaded three-way valve or two two-wayspring loaded valves permitting users to raise or lower the seat bytemporally positioning valve handles up or down. In this embodiment thepressure line to the actuator is connected to a vent line to a floatcutoff valve in the toilet tank so that when the toilet is flushed,pressure in the hydraulic linear actuator is relieved causing the toiletseat to lower to its horizontal position each time the toilet isflushed. Embodiments are provided that come in kit form to permit easyinstallation without plumbing expertise on almost any toilet in theUnited States. Embodiments of the present invention are also providedthat utilize electric controlled valves to control the hydraulic linearactuator to raise and lower the seat.

BRIEF DESCRITION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1 through 1E show features of a prior art residential toilet.

FIGS. 2A and 2B show features of a prior art public toilet.

FIGS. 3 and 3A show features of a toilet seat lift mechanism accordingto the present invention with the toilet seat in the down position.

FIGS. 4 and 4A show features of a toilet seat lift mechanism accordingto the present invention with the toilet seat in the up position.

FIGS. 5A, 5B and 5C show a three way valve for controlling the abovelift mechanism.

FIGS. 6A through 6F show various positions of the toilet seat, the liftmechanism and the lift mechanism control valve.

FIGS. 7A and 7B show an aquarium shutoff float valve used as an actuatordrain when the toilet is flushed.

FIGS. 8A, 8B, and 8C show a seat position control technique using twotwo-way valves.

FIGS. 9A and 9B show technique for toilet seat position control withelectric operated valves.

FIG. 10 shows a seat control actuator with a push type actuator.

FIGS. 11A, 11B and 11C show features for mounting embodiments of thepresent invention on virtually any toilet.

FIG. 12 show embodiment of the present invention using mechanicaloperated valves.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS First Preferred Embodiment

A first preferred embodiment of the present invention can be describedby reference to FIG. 3 to FIG. 7B. This embodiment preferably is sold asa kit that can be easily installed without any special equipment asreplacements for regular toilet seats or regular toilet seats and seatcovers. Preferred embodiments of the kit will fit nearly all toilets.Power to raise and lower the seat is provided by utility water pressurewith the user providing control by operating a control valve with noneed for the user to touch the seat.

Lift Mechanism

FIGS. 3 and 3A show features of a toilet seat lift mechanism 20according to the present invention with the toilet seat in the downposition and FIGS. 4A and 4B show those features with the toilet seat inthe up position. FIGS. 6A through 6E show the mechanism for lifting atoilet seat of the type used in public toilets of the type shown inFIGS. 2A and 2B, but it can also be used applied to lift seats such asseat 2 shown in FIG. 1. The lift mechanism 20 is contained in a liftmechanism housing 22 that is bolted to a toilet bowl unit with boltsthrough bolt holes that are common in prior art toilets as described inthe background section. Mechanism 20 includes a hydraulic linearactuator 24 which in this preferred embodiment is a slightly modifiedoff-the-shelf version of Part No. DNSU supplied by Automation Controlswith offices in Hauppauge, N.Y. It includes an approximately two-inchdiameter piston that produces a linear force of 204 pounds with waterpressure of 65 psi and a linear travel of about two inches. Actuator 24,with its modified actuator arm 26, is positioned as shown in FIGS. 3 and4. FIGS. 3 and 3A show the mechanism with toilet seat 2 in its downposition and FIGS. 4 and 4A show the mechanism with seat 2 in its up orits 110 degree raised position. Attached to the end of actuator arm 26is flexible tension element 28 which in this case is a nylon cord. Asshown in FIGS. 3 and 3A, flexible tension element 28 wraps 450 degreesaround 1¼ inch pulley 30 mounted on post 32 and attaches to axle sheave34 at location 36 which is about 110 degrees around sheave from thepoint where tension element 28 intersects sheave 34 with toilet seat 2in its down position as shown in FIGS. 3 and 6A. The power source foractuating actuator 24 is utility water pressure, the same water pressurethat is used to flush the toilet. Utility water under pressure (in therange of about 65 psi) enters actuator 24 through water line 38 as shownin FIGS. 3 and 4. This water pressure causes modified actuator arm 26 toadvance from its position shown in FIG. 3 to its position shown in FIG.4 about 1¼ inch pulling tension element 28 about 1¼ inch. Tensionelement 28 acts through pulley 30 to pivot sheave 34 about 110 degrees.Sheave 34 is rigidly attached to axle 38 that is rigidly attached toseat 2 through seat lift arms 40 so the 110 degree pivot of sheave 34causes seat 2 to pivot upward about 110 to rest against water tank 8 asshown in FIG. 6B. The utilization of a flexible nylon tension unit 28allows the lid to be raised manually without activating the actuator 24.

Control of Lift Mechanism

In this preferred embodiment lift mechanism 20 is controlled bythree-way spring positioned valve 42 as shown in FIGS. 5A, 5B and 5C and6A through 6E. The neutral position of this valve is shown in FIG. 5B.Hand force is required to position the valve in positions 5A and 5C. Inthe 5B position the valve is closed and no water passes through. Inposition 5A the valve connects actuator 24 to utility water pressureline 44 as shown in FIG. 6A to provide approximately 65 psi waterpressure to actuator 24. In position 5C valve 42 connects actuator todrain line 46 to drain actuator 24 into water tank 8 as shown in FIG.6D. Actuator 24 is also drained through drain line 47 by flushing thetoilet. Aquarium float shutoff valve 60 as shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B isclosed when tank 8 is full and open when the water level is low.

Utility Water Supply Attachment Unit

In this preferred embodiment water supply attachment unit 48 is providedas a part of a standard kit to provide a pressurized water supply toactuator 24. This water supply attachment unit includes a standard tubeconnection coupling 50 and a threaded tube connection section 52 whichis equivalent to the standard 7/16 inch tubing on standard toilet tankconnections. The attachment unit also includes a pipe section 54 a ¼inch O.D. tube connection 56 for connecting water pressure line 44 toprovide water under pressure to actuator 24. This attachment unitpermits an easy connection to utility water pressure without the need ofspecial plumbing skills.

Raising and Lowering the Seat

Operation of this first preferred embodiment is explained by referenceto FIGS. 6A through 6E. FIG. 6A shows features of the embodiment withthe seat in the down position. Valve 42 is in its neutral closedposition. No pressure is applied to actuator 24 and seat 2 is in itsdown position. Tank 8 is full.

Raising the Seat

In FIG. 6B valve 42 is moved by a user to its raised position as shownat 64 so that actuator 24 is connected by valve 42 to 65 psi utilitywater pressure through water supply attachment unit 48. Water flowsaccording to arrows 66 as shown in FIG. 6B. Actuator arm 26 of actuator24 is driven about 1¼ inch as shown by comparing FIG. 6B to FIG. 6Awhich causes seat 2 to rise to the position shown at 68 in FIG. 6B. FIG.6C shows the condition of the elements of the present invention afterthe raising of seat 2. No water is flowing and seat 2 remains in its upposition, held there by trapped pressure in actuator 24.

Lowering the Seat

In FIG. 6D valve 42 is moved by a user to its lower position as shown at70 so that actuator 24 is connected by valve 42 to drain line 46. Waterflows out of actuator to tank 8 as shown by arrows 74 in FIG. 6D. Springelement 76 attached to axle 38 as shown in FIG. 6C is positioned toapply a lowering torque to axle 38 when the seat 2 is in a positionhigher than about 70 degrees. At 70 degrees spring element 76 pressesagainst the bottom of tank 8. So once the water pressure in actuatordecreases to atmospheric, spring element 76 causes seat 2 to rotate toabout 70 degrees. This causes a rotation of sheave 34 which throughtension element 28 drives actuator arm 26 pushing water out of actuator24. Once seat is rotated to about 70 degrees gravity will take overcausing it to lower slowly to its horizontal position driving actuatorarm 26 to its withdrawn position as shown at 72 in FIG. 6D as theremaining water is forced out of the actuator.

Flushing Automatically Lowers the Seat

FIG. 6E shows what happens if seat 2 is left in its up position afteruse by a man or boy when the toilet is flushed. The flushing of thetoilet causes the water level in tank 8 to drop. This opens aquariumfloat shutoff valve 60 as shown in FIG. 7A allowing the action of springelement 76 and the weight of seat 2 to force the water out of actuator24 and forcing seat 2 to lower slowly to its horizontal position. Theflow of water is shown by arrows 80 in FIG. 6E. The rising of waterlevel in tank 8 closes valve 60 as shown in FIG. 7B.

Two Two-Way Valves Replacing the Three-Way Valve

An alternative to the three-way control valve shown in FIGS. 5A, 5B and5C is two two-way valves. In this case two two-way valves can be used asshown in FIGS. 8A, 8B and 8C. These are spring operated valves with theneutral position as shown in FIG. 8B. To raise the seat a user shouldoperate valve 42A as shown in FIG. 8A and to lower the seat the usershould operate valve 42B as shown in FIG. 8C.

Electric Controlled Valves

Instead of the manually operated valves described above and shown inFIGS. 5A though 6E, actuator 24 can be controlled by electric actuatedvalves. FIG. 9A shows control using a three-way electric controlledvalve 52. FIG. 9B shows similar control using two two-way electriccontrol valves 52A and 52B. The functioning of the remainder of thesystem is the same as described above for the manually controlledvalves. The valves 52 and 52A and 52B in FIGS. 9A and 9B are controlledby electric switches 50 as shown in FIGS. 9A and 9B. These switches canbe finger operated switches or switches 50 could be remotely operatedswitches using a signal transmitter and receiver. The signal transmitterand receiver could be an infrared device or it could be a deviceoperated at radio frequencies. Such devices are readily available frommany suppliers.

Pushing Actuator

Actuator 24 can be configured to operate in a push mode as shown in FIG.10 instead of the pull configuration in FIGS. 3, 3A, 4 and 4A and FIGS.6A through 6E. In this case pulley unit 30 is replaced by a cam 30A thatis pushed by actuator 24 instead of being pulled. The reader should notethat this drawing shows the components of the seat raising unit tooccupy only one half of lift mechanism 20. This leaves room for anequivalent mechanism and controls for controlling the positioning ofseat cover 4 as shown in FIG. 1. Preferably the control mechanism forcover 4 would be substantially the same as described for seat 2 and theaxel for cover 4 would be positioned at a higher level than axel 76 forseat 2.

Remotely Controlled Embodiment

Applicant currently expects to provide a preferred embodiment for usewith toilets similar to the one shown in FIG. 1. The unit will bemarketed as a kit and will contain hydraulic controls for both the seat2 and cover 4. Each of the hydraulic devices will be controlled by atwo-way miniature battery operated solenoid valves each of which in turnwill be actuated by a battery powered, radio frequency transmitter andreceiver unit. The transmitters preferably will be mounted at aconvenient location on the bathroom wall and the receivers will belocated adjacent to the valves. Each transmitter is actuated by buttoncontrol unit. These remote transmitter/receiver units can be provided bymany suppliers such as Aerotech with offices in Pittsburgh, Pa. and theminiature valves are available from suppliers such as Asco Scientificwith offices in Orange, Calif. The kit is expected to include aninfrared sensor unit that will be adapted to lower the seat when thereis no one in the vicinity of the toilet for a specified period of time.

Mounting the Preferred Embodiments

In all toilets known to Applicants two holes are provided on each toiletto mount the toilet seat or toilet seat and the toilet lid if there isone. However, the two holes are not spaced at a standard dimension. Thedistance between the holes varies from 5¼ inches to 8½ inches. Amounting unit is shown in FIGS. 11, 11A and 11B which comes as a part ofa kit to permit preferred embodiments of the present invention to beinstalled easily on almost any toilet in the United States. The mountingunit is comprised of two mounting brackets 60A and 60B. Bracket 60A is Ishaped and 60B is L shaped. Both have a hollow threaded post 62 thatextends through the two seat mounting holes on virtually every toilet inthe United States. The two mounting brackets are firmly mounted to thetoilet with nuts 64. Each of the two mounting brackets have two threadedstuds 66 extending upward as shown in FIG. 11A. These threaded studsextend upward through slots 70 in the bottom 68 as shown in FIG. 11B oflift mechanism housing 22. These slots permit easy attachment of thelift mechanism to toilets with wide variation in the distance betweenthe two mounting holes. Therefore the location of the lift mechanism 20is not dependent on the attachment holes in the stool. Lift mechanism 20is firmly attached to the toilet structure by four nuts (not shown)attached to the four studs shown in FIG. 11B. Housing 22 of liftmechanism 20 is fitted with a rubber base edge to seal against the stoolbase between the seat 2 and the tank 8. Actuator fill/vent line 72passes through hollow threaded post 62 and slot 74 in bottom plate 68 toconnect to actuator 24.

Other Design Considerations

The actuator size is controlled by three main factors. The forcerequired to lift the lid, the internal return spring space, and thecable sheave diameter. The smaller the sheave diameter the larger theforce required to lift the lid. The larger the force the greater will bethe actuator diameter. The spring force of spring 76 is controlled bythe ‘stack’ distance and the lb-inch force to return the actuatorpiston. An open vent line may be provided connecting the air portion ofactuator 24 to tank 8 this line could pass through one of the hollowthreaded posts 62 to allow any water that might get past the lip seal ofactuator 24 to be returned to the tank 8. With the electronic valves, aninfrared sensor can be provided that will sense when no one is in thestool area and operate the control valve to lower the seat.

Three-way miniature solenoid valves at a single unit price less than $8appear to be available from at least two vendors. While a specific valveto the specifications required for the compact assembly has not beenidentified, both vendors claim able to adjust their existing products tosatisfied needs. Piezoelectric valves were examined to see if they wereable to provide the service since they require very little power tooperate. They are not able to meet the needs and are very expensive. Thebattery size required to operate the remote controls and solenoid valvesis expected to be 9 volts DC or less. Valves with ⅛ inch connectionsprovide ample water flow for the operation required.

Preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described indetail above. However, a great many variations from these specificembodiments could be made and will be obvious to persons skilled in theart to which this invention belongs. For example, as suggested above thetechniques described for lifting seat 2 could also be used to lift seatcover 4. Lift mechanism housing 22 could contain two lift mechanisms,one for the seat and one for the cover. For the battery operatedelectronic embodiments, water flow to the toilet could be harnessed togenerate enough electric power to recharge batteries needed foroperating the solenoid valves to lift the seat(s). The followingfeatures could be provided to accommodate someone who manually lifts alid. For the manual valve concept, a manual valve could be added in thehousing to be triggered when the lid is lifted in order to fill theactuator and hold the lid up against the spring return force. For thesolenoid valves, a magnet on the sheave could be used to detect themanual raising of the seat so that when the seat is raised, a signal canbe sent that will trip the fill valve to keep the lid up. Therefore, thescope of the invention should be determined by the appended claims andtheir legal equivalence and not by the specific embodiments describedabove. The primary functions of the actuators, piston returns, top andbottom lid lifting and lowering, manual and solenoid valve operations,have been tested successfully on a proof-of-principle test bed.

1. A hydraulically lifted toilet seat system for use on a toilet bowlunit, said system comprising: A) a toilet seat, B) a toilet seat liftmechanism unit comprising: 1) a lift mechanism unit housing, 2) ahydraulic linear actuator rigidly mounted within said housing andcomprising a drive arm, 3) a pivot axle rigidly attached to said toiletseat 4) a force conversion mechanism for converting linear forceproduced by said linear actuator into a torque for pivoting said axle inorder to raise said toilet seat, 5) a water supply line for supplyingpressurized water utility water to said linear actuator, 6) a pressurerelief line for depressurizing said linear actuator, 7) a valve systemfor pressurizing said linear actuator in order to raise said seat anddepressurizing said linear actuator to lower said seat.
 2. The toiletseat system as in claim 1 wherein said force conversion mechanismcomprises a sheave rigidly attached to said axle and a flexible tensionelement attached to said sheave for producing a pivot motion in saidsheave.
 3. The toilet seat system as in claim 2 wherein said forceconversion mechanism also comprises a pulley with said tension elementwrapped around said pulley and attached to said drive arm of said linearactuator so that actuation of said drive arm produces a pivot motion ofsaid sheave to raise said seat.
 4. The toilet seat system as in claim 2wherein said force conversion mechanism also comprises a cam adapted tobe pushed by said drive arm of said linear actuator, wherein saidtension element is also attached to said cam so that actuation of saiddrive arm produces a pivot motion of said sheave to raise said seat. 5.The toilet seat system as in claim 1 and further comprising a springelement adapted to provide a pivot force sufficient to move the seatfrom an angular position somewhat larger than 90 degrees, as measuredfrom horizontal, to an angular position somewhat smaller than 90degrees.
 6. The toilet seat system as in claim 1 and also comprising afloat shutoff valve for installation in a tank of said toilet and a ventline connecting to said shutoff valve to said linear actuator so that aflushing of said toilet will depressurize said linear actuator allowingsaid seat to lower to an approximately horizontal position.
 7. Thetoilet seat system as in claim 1 and also comprising a utility watersupply attachment unit comprising a standard tube connection couplingand a standard threaded tube connection section corresponding tostandard toilet tank connections to permit easy connection of saidsystem to utility water pressure without the need of special plumbingskills.
 8. The toilet seat system as in claim 1 wherein said tensionelement is a nylon cord.
 9. The toilet seat system as in claim 1 whereinsaid valve system comprises a three-way hand operated valve adapted toraise and lower said seat.
 10. The toilet seat system as in claim 1wherein said valve system comprises a two two-way hand operated valveadapted to raise and lower said seat.
 11. The toilet seat system as inclaim 1 wherein said valve system comprises a three-way electric poweredvalve adapted to raise and lower said seat.
 12. The toilet seat systemas in claim 1 wherein said valve system comprises two two-way electricpowered valves adapted to raise and lower said seat.
 13. The toilet seatsystem as in claim 11 and further comprising a remote control unit foroperating said valve.
 14. The toilet seat system as in claim 12 andfurther comprising a remote control unit for operating said valves. 15.The toilet seat system as in claim 1 wherein said system is packaged asan easily installed kit.
 16. The toilet seat system as in claim 11 andfurther comprising at least one battery for providing electric power tosaid electric powered valve and a turbine driven electric generator forgenerating electric power for charging said at least one battery. 17.The toilet seat system as in claim 11 and further comprising at leastone battery for providing electric power to said electric powered valvesand a turbine driven electric generator for generating electric powerfor charging said at least one battery.
 18. The toilet seat system as inclaim 11 and further comprising an infrared sensing and control unitadapted to vent said hydraulic linear actuator through said three-wayvalve when no one is in the region of the toilet for a specified periodof time.
 19. The toilet seat system as in claim 12 and furthercomprising an infrared sensing and control unit adapted to vent saidhydraulic linear actuator through one of said two-way valves when no oneis in the region of the toilet for a specified period of time.
 20. Thetoilet seat system as in claim 1 and further comprising: A) a toiletseat cover, B) a second hydraulic linear actuator rigidly mounted withinsaid housing, C) a second pivot axle rigidly attached to said toiletseat cover, D) a second force conversion mechanism for converting linearforce produced by said linear actuator into a torque for pivoting saidsecond axle in order to raise said toilet seat cover, E) a second watersupply line for supplying pressurized water utility water to said secondlinear actuator, F) a second pressure relief line for depressurizingsaid second linear actuator, G) a second valve system for pressurizingsaid linear actuator in order to raise said seat cover anddepressurizing said linear actuator to lower said seat cover.
 21. Thetoilet seat system as in claim 5 and further comprising a water line tosaid housing and a seat-operated valve located in said housing adaptedto pressurize said linear actuator if the seat is lifted manually inorder to hold the seat in an raised position against said pivot force ofsaid spring element.
 22. The toilet seat system as in claim 13 andfurther comprising as sensor and a transmitter located in said housingadapted to operate said valve to fill said linear actuator when the seatis lifted manually.
 23. The toilet seat system as in claim 14 andfurther comprising as sensor and a transmitter located in said housingadapted to operate one of said valves to fill said linear actuator whenthe seat is lifted manually.